Following our piece on Friday, TIPM has now had formal confirmation that Vantage Press has ‘suspended’ operations. TIPM is also in possession of the names of at least thirteen former staff and freelance workers who departed the company over the past nine months. In a brief email communication to one Vantage Press author two weeks ago, David Lamb, president and owner of the company, confirmed the news:

“Vantage Press relocated to Great Barrington, Massachusetts in July while retaining editorial staff in new sublet Manhattan office space, both in an effort to reduce costs. But in November, I am sorry to report, Vantage Press was forced to suspend operations pending a reorganization, sale, or liquidation. There will be more notification in the near future.”

Quite why Vantage Press has chosen to release this news selectively and only to some authors is troubling. For the past two to three weeks TIPM has received communications from authors reporting missed royalty payments since October and a hold on their book orders from Ingram.

Since our first report on Friday, the company’s Facebook page, available then, has also been removed.

Vantage Press, formed in 1949, was one of the oldest running self-publishing services, and following new ownership in 2009 under David Lamb, it launched two trade publishing imprints. It is unclear what part Vantage Point and Andover Press will play in any sale or liquidation. Both imprints ‘ websites are still visible on the Internet.

What is clear is that the sudden closure of Vantage Press has left many of its authors high and dry and a further sign that the hayday of self-publishing providers with a paper-centric model is dead and buried.